Inevitable Love
by loveandhuggies
Summary: This is my take on how Jake and Nessie's story continues after Breaking Dawn. **better summary shortly**
1. Prologue: The Beginning

**~~Aloha, Twihards! Anyone else wanna go to Hawii desperately? I do. Too freaking cold up here...**

**Anyway... I do not own Twilight, Jake, Nessie, Eddie, Bella, Rose... and this little part here is an exerpt from BD in my own words. I don't own Stephanie Meyer's ingenious plot, only the one I made up in my trainwreck-of-a-brain...**

**Alright, I'll stop rambling up here now and let you read my other, story-like ramblings.~~**

Prologue: The Beginning 

_My mother stared at me with big brown eyes full of love, adoration, and slight pain. Her face was nearly sheet white; her limp, brown hair stuck to her sweaty forehead. Even as sick as she looked, she was very beautiful. Her pale lips curved up in a weak smile. "Renes... mee." she rasped my name. "So... beautiful." I smiled. Then her breath washed over my face, delicious and irresistible. I acted on instinct, biting into her soft chest. My mother gasped in shock and pain, and I was whisked away from her. _

_My father looked at me with his coal-black eyes, wagging a finger at me. "No, Renesmee." he scolded lightly in a musical voice. He smelled so sweet, I smiled, inhaling as far as I could. His brown hair was short, and his skin perfect, whiter than my mother's, and hard. His face was beautiful, like my mother's, but in a much different way. _

_I heard my mother's heart beat stutter once, but the rhythm steadied quickly. There was a loud huff that accompanied every beat. It was much different from her labored breathing, my father's steady breaths, and mine. Someone else was in the room, I realized. I sniffed at the air lightly. My father's sweet smell, much like my own mix between his and my mother's, was the most potent. Second, my mother's. I ignored how it set my throat on fire, concentrating on the last smell. _

_It was terrible, but I was curious to who or what it was coming from. It smelled like... well, I had no idea, since I'd only ever smelled my father, mother, myself, and this thing. It was mildly repulsive, though. Nothing like the other, sweeter smells that filled the room. _

_The long, muffled sound of someone breathing out interrupted my thoughts. _

_"What are you waiting for?" the other occupant of the little room asked breathlessly. His voice was husky, deep, and warm, even as stressed as it was. Not as smooth as my father's, but beautiful, in its own way. _

_"Take the baby." My father said, holding me at arm's-length, towards the other person. I saw a glimpse of short, uneven black hair before it bobbed back down in time with the huffs. _

_"Throw it out the window." The husky voice was hard, but still breathless. _

_"Give her to me." Another voice said. It was musical, like my father's, but higher. _

_Two growls, one husky and one smooth, startled me a bit. _

_"I've got it under control." the high voice said. "Give me the baby, Edward. I'll take care of her until Bella..." the voice trailed off, and, with a slightly reluctant expression, my father passed me quickly to this other person. _

_As we flew down a flight of stairs, I studied her face. She was beautiful, like my mother and father. Her hair was beautiful, as well. Long and golden, it curled its way down past my line of vision. Her eyes were black, like my father's, and full of love and adoration, like my mother's. Also like my father, her skin was pale white, and very hard. On the other hand, her full, red lips curved up into a smile that was a stronger version of my mother's. _

_I reached up, touched her smooth, hard cheek, and smiled back at her. She gasped. My smile vanished, my eyebrows mashing together. "What is wrong?" I wanted to ask her. A shocked look flashed over her face, then understanding. _

_"Nothing is wrong." she said. "You are just very beautiful." She smiled again. _

_Now it was my turn to be shocked. My hand fell from her face. She had heard me? How...? In the back of my mind, I wondered about something less concerning, but just as intriguing: I was beautiful? Like her? Like my father? Like my mother? I hoped it was all of them. _

_I hesitantly placed my hand back on her cheek. I tried to show her what she had just said, and how I had questioned it. _

_She chuckled and nodded. "Very." she assured me. "You look so much like your father. But..." She paused, looking carefully into my eyes. "You do have your mother's eyes." She said, smiling involuntarily. _

_This made me very happy. I replayed the last couple of seconds to her, adding anticipation. _

_"What, do you want to see yourself?" she wondered. _

_I showed her my excitement at her words. _

_"Alright." she agreed, carrying me over to a wall. There was something reflective hanging there. When we stood in front of it, I saw her, carrying a tiny little thing, covered in red, with red-blonde hair that was curlier than hers, pale skin under the red, and white little teeth under a smile of anticipation. I turned back and showed her the picture, with a questioning edge to it. _

_"Yes." she murmured. "That's you." _

_I showed her another picture. My mother, whispering my name. I added another questioning edge. _

_"Yes, you are called Renesmee. I am called Rosalie. You can call me Aunt Rose, if you like."_

_I showed her herself saying "Aunt Rose", with a happy edge to it. Then I showed her my father's face, with the same questioning edge. _

_"His name is Edward, but I'm sure he'll want you to call him 'Dad'." _

_Then I showed her my mother's in the same way. _

_"Bella." she whispered. "Her name is Bella. But she will want you to call her 'Mom'."_

Mom. _I thought. _My beautiful Mom.

**~~Soooo? Whatchya think? I love reviews with a firey passion, by the way... ;]**

**Tell me what your favorite thing about this little chapter is, any random thoughts, and praise is always nice and heart-warming, too.... **

**Heehee...**

**Love and huggies to anyone and everyone who reads/reviews my little fanfic! **

**Rachel 3~~**


	2. Chapter 2: Oh, Wow

**~~Hello, fellow Twilighters! *twilighters, twilighters...* First, I'll get the disclaimer outta the way. I don't own Twilight, I don't own Nessie or Jake, I don't own Forks, I own nothing but the pretty little idea that erupted in my head, yatta yatta... **

**Ok, now I'll tell you that in this chapter, our little Nessie-kins is almost all grown-up, and having some thoughts about Jakey-poo, and the big lug tells her something wow-worthy. **

**Enjoy and please review!~~**

I stared into the brown eyes looking back at me. Chocolate brown and sparkling with slightly worried anticipation, they were beautiful. There was a knock on my door, and the eyes darted toward it. "Come in." I said, looking back at my eyes in the mirror. At my mother's eyes. Well, what _used _to be my mother's eyes...

My door opened, and I saw my mother's newer, golden eyes. The eyes I have gotten used to seeing for the past four years.

"Renesmee, your dad and I are going to Esme and Carlisle's house. Would you like to come with?" Mom asked, leaning her shoulder against the doorjamb, brushing her hand through her long, straight, mahogany hair.

"Sure." I hopped up from the chair in front of my vanity.

Mom smiled, her perfect white teeth shining in the lamp next to me, and turned.

I followed her down the hall to the main room of our little cottage. My dad was reading in one of the mis-matched chairs by the fire. I wondered how he kept finding new books to read that interested him. He read faster than anyone I knew, practically at lightning speed. Not to mention that over the century that he'd lived as a vampire, he must have read millions, if not billions, of books.

As soon as we were both in the room, he put it down, swiftly marking the page, stood and smiled up at us. "I'm glad you decided to come with us." Dad said to me.

"Why wouldn't I? I'll bet Aunt Alice and Aunt Rose are there, and Grandpa Carlisle didn't finish telling me his story about him running to Africa." I said, more for Mom's benefit than necessity. See, my dad, he has a special talent that enables him to read everyone's mind. With one exception. My mother. That was her special talent; she was impervious to any mental gifts. Besides mine, that is. I have a way of touching someone, and showing them or telling them something inside of their head.

My parents smiled, happy again about how well I took all of it in. I never knew why they were so relieved that I wasn't surprised — or scared — when one of our family suddenly appeared out of nowhere, or when someone talked about running across the state, or being thirsty. It had been five years! I mean, I never had any problem with the supernatural. I was born into it, and I was used to it.

Even though Dad could hear every one of these thoughts every time they reacted that way, he still did it. It made no sense at all.

It made sense for them to be so worried about me in the _beginning_. I had been in the womb for only one month, and grew so quickly that I was measured twice a day. I was still growing just as fast, but after Alice brought Nahuel — a half-human, half-vampire, like me — to save us all from certain death, we stopped that practice. We all knew that I would be full grown by the time I was seven, and we didn't need to bother tracking that progress.

Back then, I got why they would look at me like that, like I was a fragile little girl — which was definitely not the case; I had granite-hard skin, just like my parents' — who could be broken by just a simple wrong word.

But _now_?! I was 5 years old, with the body of a 14 year old, and the intelligence of a college graduate. They had no reason to be so _worried_ all the time.

I sighed, knowing that no amount of logic could possibly stop that feeling.

Dad chuckled, taking Mom's hand. She questioned him with her eyes.

"Nessie is still thinking about how overprotective we are of her." He smiled.

I stuck my tongue out at him, causing both of them to laugh a little.

"Well, shall we?" Dad asked, gesturing towards the door.

I nodded and ran ahead of them. They caught up with me easily, and we ran through the thick Washington forest at a high speed that only the supernatural had a prayer of reaching.

We arrived at the large, bright house within minutes. I reached the door first; my parents liked letting me lead, since I was a bit slower than them. It still irritated me to no end. When I entered the open and airy front room, Aunt Alice and Aunt Rose were talking quietly on the large white couch, Uncle Jasper and Uncle Emmet were playing chess — I could tell by Emmet's frustrated and angry face that he was losing — under the stairs, and Grandma Esme was humming softly to herself on the floor, her head bent over blue prints.

I went over to Esme and sat down next to her. She smiled, made a quick adjustment with her pen, then pushed the papers to the side. "Good morning, my Nessie." she said, giving me a hug.

"Morning, Esme." I said, squeezing her gently. I had stopped calling Esme and Carlisle 'Grandma' and 'Grandpa' two years ago; they look all too young to be grandparents.

My parents walked in then, looking into each other's eyes like they do. I loved how much they truly loved each other; I watched enough movies with Aunt Alice to know that some kids aren't so lucky.

"Good morning." Dad muttered to everyone, not looking away from Mom; she smiled shyly in response. I knew —from the stories that she'd told me — she would have blushed. If that was possible, of course.

Suddenly, he sighed. "Alright, Alice. Just tell me what you need to tell me." He kissed my mother quickly, and strolled off to the rarely-used kitchen. Alice rose gracefully from the couch and followed him, ignoring our curious gazes that were boring into her back.

"Wonder what that's about..." Mom muttered as she sat down in Alice's spot.

Aunt Rose nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

I turned to Esme. "Where's Carlisle?" I asked her.

"In Olympia. He's sitting in on a conference." She informed me, a proud smile on her face.

I smiled a little, too. I was disappointed that my story had to wait; but, still, I was happy for him. He could still be a doctor, even if he'd had to give up his job here in Forks — because he did _not_ look a day over 27, though he was supposedly 39, according to the inhabitants of this small town. He and Esme never went into Forks anymore; they traveled frequently. They had just come back from another honeymoon in Paris, in fact. I would never be able to count which honeymoon that was — there were too many.

By that time, Dad and Alice were back. My dad had an extremely annoyed expression on his face. Alice just looked... well, to be honest, she looked extremely smug.

"What happened, Alice?" Mom asked, curious. "What did you see?" She was referring to my aunt's ability to see visions the future. It wasn't perfect in any sense — any one little decision made by anyone could change the entire future — but we all relied on it like life support.

She smiled knowingly, still smug from her previous conversation. "Oh, I was just informing Edward about a certain teenager that will be telling him about a certain wolf very soon."

I was suddenly very angry at my aunt.

Jasper's head snapped up. He had an ability, as well: he could sense and manipulate emotions. As soon as he registered mine, he was in front of me in a flash. "Now, Nessie, I don't know what is going on here, but you have to calm down. I'm sure Alice didn't mean to upset you, right?" he turned his torso towards his soul mate, who smiled angelicly.

"Of course, not!" she said, her eyes widening. "I only meant to let my brother know what to expect, so that he did not take any possible anger out on my favorite niece." Her smile flashed once more.

"I'm your _only_ niece." I siad, exasperated. I wasn't angry any more, though. It is completely impossible to stay mad at Alice. With her delicate features, tiny frame, and angelic exsressions, she was like a deflector for all sour feelings.

"So..." my mother said, all too casual, as she rose from the couch. "A certain wolf?" she asked, a little sparkle in her eye.

I was painfully aware of every pair of golden eyes on my face as I fidgeted uncomfortabley. "Um..." Was all I could get out.

_Please don't make me do this right now!_ I begged mentally to my dad, who was looking more irritated by the second as he heard me try to stay away from what I knew I had to say.

Thankfully, his soft side won out over his annoyance. "Come now, everyone. Let's not put Nessie on the spot." He sighed, and gave me a "you owe me" look.

I smiled in relief.

Then my father straightened up, and his eyes turned to slits. "Speak of the devil..." he forced through clenched teeth.

Mom cocked her head to the side, towards the rode. "Oh." she said.

I listened hard. I could just make out the sound of a car turning onto the long drive to the house. It was the Rabbit.

_Jacob_. I thought, smiling.

My mom had a little smile, too. She liked Jacob. He used to be one of her best friends, when she was still human, and still was.

But I knew that _I_ was the only one that could say he was my very best friend, and vice versa. We had this connection... it's so confusing; I could never explain it right. But when Jake was around, I was happier. When I saw him, it was like all my troubles were gone, just because he was there.

We all listened to his car coming closer to the house. I knew he heard us all in here; his hearing was just as good as any of ours. He was just as... _abnormal_... as the rest of my family. Being able to shift into the form of a wolf, he was humungous, and had the senses of the animal.

I heard him put the car in park, and I couldn't resist going out to meet him. I flew out the door, the sooner to see his smiling face.

"Hey, Ness!" He said, elated, as he shut the door to the little car he had built himself — from scratch — before I was born.

"Hey, Jake!" I matched his enthusiasm as I ran to him. He caught me up in a vise-tight hug; if it wasn't for my vampire side, I was sure I would be crushed in his beefy arms.

He released me, and we just stood there for a minute, smiling at each other. I had to look practically straight up, even when I was two feet away from him. I might have the body of an average 14 year old girl, but he had the body of a 25 year old male weight lifter. And he had to be almost seven feet tall. His black hair was short, and the same color as his dark — but still warm — eyes. They contrasted with his russet skin.

"So, how's it going?" he asked, smiling wider, his bright white teeth glowing in the low light of the overcast day.

"Great." I said, smiling bigger, too. "Except..." I frowned a little, pursing my lips. I didn't want to tell Jacob what I couldn't even tell Dad yet, but it was hard to keep even insignificant secrets from him. And this one was fairly important.

"What is it?" he asked, instantly worried. "What's wrong?"

His unneeded concern made me smile a bit. "Alice is just being a bit of a..." I searched for the right word.

"Pain in the ass?" Jake suggested lightly.

"Smug psychic." I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

He laughed. "Flaunting her abilities again, is she?"

"Yeah." I sighed, then shook my head, dismissing my problems. "Let's go for a walk in the woods, k?"

"K." He agreed easily, always up for whatever I wanted to do.

As we hurried past the house, I heard my dad telling my mom and the others where we were going. His perpetually bad mood towards Jacob was seething in his voice.

I sighed, and Jacob chuckled. I gave him a questioning look.

"It doesn't matter that your dad doesn't like me, Nessie. As long as you like me, that is." he teased.

"Come on, Jake." I nudged him lightly with my elbow. "It doesn't bother you at all?" I asked, ignoring his joke.

"Uh uh, not in the least." he assured me, shaking his head.

We'd crossed the backyard and reached the river by now. I jumped lightly into the air, landing on the other side of the wide expanse of rushing water. I turned around and watched him crouch down on an out-cropping of rock. He smirked mischievously, and sprung. At me.

Before I realized what he was doing, he was pinning me down on the ground like a wrestler, a triumphant grin taking up most of his face. I gasped and wiggled around, wanting to get free. He laughed. I knew that — if I really wanted to — I could throw him off of me. I just didn't want to. He might get hurt. Of course, he would be healed within ten minutes or so — it's another wolf thing — but it would delay our walk.

"Jake!" I whined, laughing a little bit, too. "Let me up, already!"

"Why should I?" he tried — unsuccessfully — to square his shoulders while he was still shaking with laughter.

"Because if you don't, you know Dad will be out here in two seconds to make you." I reminded him lightly.

He pursed his lips thoughtfully, then sighed. "Alright, fine." He pushed up, jumping in the air a bit, and landed lightly on the balls of his feet. He held a hand out to me like I was royalty, and I took it with a warning in my eyes. I didn't want him throwing me over his shoulder or something.

He chuckled in response and pulled me up.

We walked at a leisurely pace through the woods. Well, leisurely for _us. _In about ten minutes, we had gone four miles. It was twice the time it would've taken to reach the cottage — which was ten miles away from Carlisle and Esme's — if we'd been going at our normal, much faster speed.

Jacob sighed in relief.

I knew why; my dad couldn't hear our thoughts anymore. We were far enough away.

I was relieved, too, but for a different reason. Jacob didn't like Dad "intruding" in his head, knowing his thoughts. I didn't care about that part; I just didn't like trying to keep my thoughts from him.

Now that I wasn't forcing them away, my secret thoughts were flooding my mind. _Jacob is so beautiful! Why didn't I see that before? What does that mean? When he tackled me, I didn't mind it like I probably should've. What does _that_ mean? Is he as confused as I am? Does he think _I'm_ beautiful? Why did he tackle me? _My head spun with these slightly upsetting thoughts. My eyes slid over to Jacob without my permission, and I saw that he was looking at me, too. His entire head was turned my way, and he looked like he was thinking really hard about something. Suddenly, he smiled hugely.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled back. It was hard not to smile when Jake was around. He was always so happy. And he made _me_ happy, too.

Then that happy boy who was staring at me very intently ran into a giant oak tree.

"Jake!" I stopped short. He'd fallen to the ground in surprise. Obviously, he wasn't hurt, but his face was priceless. I couldn't hold back the laugh. I threw my head back, scaring a bird on another tree. I looked back at him, muffling the sound with my hand. "Sorry." I giggled, offering my hand to him, like he had to me.

He took it, and I helped him up.

He poked me in the ribs. "Stop that!" he muttered, clearly trying not to laugh himself.

"I really am sorry." I said, taking a deep breath to stop my hystarics. "I just couldn't help myself. Your face was just so funny!" I smiled, biting my lip against another laugh at the memory.

"Hmph." He crossed his arms stubbornly.

I bumped him with my shoulder. "Come on. It's funny, and you know it."

He smiled again, and we kept walking, chatting lightly.

Eventually, we ended up at the cottage.

"You wanna go in, or keep walking?" He asked me.

"Let's go in. I want to sit down for a minute."

He opened the door for me, gesturing regally towards the front room.

I pretended to curtsy a bit, and walked through like a proud queen. We had played 'royalty' so many times when I was younger, it was nearly automatic now.

I curled up in a chair by the fire, and Jake sunk into the other. I realized with a little giggle that it was the same one Dad had sat in this morning.

Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind." I said, waving it away with my hand.

I stared into the blue flames — it was driftwood from the Pacific; Mom told me it was the sea salt that made it a different color — my confusing thoughts whirling around in my head.

I could feel Jake's stare on my face, but I didn't mind. He did it a lot; I never thought twice about it.

"What's on your mind?" he asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" My head whipped around to face him. "Oh, nothing, really." I lied smoothly. "Just some stories Mom used to tell me." I smiled.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Really? What stories?" He asked, forever interested in anything to do with me.

"Oh, just some stories from her human days." I shrugged nonchalantly.

He sat up a little straighter and smiled. "Any with me in 'em?"

I thought for a minute. "Ok, well there was one funny one."

He gestured impatiently for me to continue.

I leaned towards him, my elbows on my jean-clad knees. "It was about when you, her, and some kid named Mike Newton went to see a horror movie at a theater, right after you finished the Rabbit. She said it was a 'ridiculously fake' movie, with unbelievable stunts, and you and her were laughing at it the whole time. Then, she said that Mike guy got real sick, and was barfing all over the bathroom. She told me that when you got to your car, you gave him an empty popcorn bucket and said nothing but 'Please.'" I giggled, and he chuckled at the memory.

Abruptly, his face got serious. "She didn't tell you anything else about that night?" He asked me. The strangest expression was on his face; the same expression he had on whenever he told me something... particularly delicate.

I shook my head slowly, mentally preparing himself for whatever bomb he was going to drop.

"That night had two very significant events that Bella _conveniently_ left out." he started.

"And those are...?" I prompted him when he didn't continue.

"Well, first of all, that was the first night I phased." he said, obviously picking the easiest one first.

"Oh. What made you phase? The movie? Mike's puke?" I asked, joking halfheartedly.

He smiled a bit. "Naw, I was feeling kinda sick myself, and Billy told me I looked bad." He laughed one hard laugh, his eyes glazed over, staring over my head. "I exploded. Literally." His head inclined and his eyes widened on the last word.

I'd seen it before, but it had been on purpose. It really was like he was exploding, his wolf-self forcing its way out of his body. He'd expected me to freak out, but all I could do was stare in awe. It was amazing.

I came back to the present. "What was the other... event?" I asked, making him join me from his own memories.

Jacob took a deep breath. "That was the night I told your mom I wasn't giving up." he siad to his hands.

I stared at him in confusion. "Giving up? Giving up on what?" I asked, my mind searching for an answer.

"On her. On us." he mumbled, nearly incoherently.

As each of those four tiny words sunk in, my whole word tipped over, nearly dumping me off the side. "Oh." I choked out.

His head snapped up at the sound of my strangled voice. "Are you going to cry?" he asked, sounding disgusted at himself.

I shook my head, willing my answer to be true.

He knew my face better than that. He quickly stood up, pulling me with him, and crushed me into his huge chest. "I shouldn't have told you that. I should've done what Bella did and kept it from you."

"No." I mumbled, one tear escaping the corner of my eye. "I'm glad I know. It definitely explains why Dad hates you so much." I laughed lamely.

Jacob pulled me back, looking at my face with his head cocked to the side. "Wait, what did you think I meant before?"

I stared at him, incomprehension my main emotion. "That you and Mom were... ya know... together." I averted my eyes.

He snorted, and I looked back at him, shocked.

"Honestly, Ness. You think that Edward and Bella would've _ever_ let that happen?" he smiled at me mockingly.

"Well, no, but what else could you have meant?"

He looked me square in the eye. "Renesmee. I _was_ in love with your mother, yes. At one point." he stated, carefully annunciating each word.

"You mean, you guys were never...?"

"No. She was in love with me, too, once. But it wasn't enough. She loved your dad far too much for our love to change anything about them. Then, when she had you, it didn't matter for me, either. It all but evaporated. In a split second, I switched from the second-place loser to the best and most willing volunteer babysitter on the planet, and her very best friend." He smiled at me reassuringly.

"Oh." I breathed, relief washing through me, and I smiled back. "Wait, then why _does_ Dad hate you so much?" I asked, confused again.

Jake laughed, and pulled me back into his chest. "Cause of what's inevitable with us." He squeezed me a bit when he said '_us'_.

I was still confused. "What do you mean? What's inevitable?"

He sighed, sitting back down. He kept one of my hands. "Nessie, you know how Sam and Emily, and Kim and Jared, and Paul and Rachel are married? And how Quil is almost never apart from Claire?" He asked me.

"Yeah..." I said. I didn't know where he was going with this.

"Well, there's a reason for that." he hesitated. "It's... it's wolf related."

My eyebrows furrowed as the confusion deepened with each word.

"See, when we first phase, something changes within us, and we see everything differently. Including the... opposite sex." he said, grinning immaturely at the words _'opposite_ _sex'_. "Once we're wolves, if we see our... soul mate... nothing else matters. Not even previous relationships. Only that one person, and keeping them safe and happy. It's something called imprinting." he searched my expression carefully.

I nodded slowly. It kinda made sense... sorta. I mean, it definitely explained why Quil never complained when seven year old Claire played Barbies with him. And made him do the Barbie voice.

"Ness, hon, do you see what I'm getting at?" he asked softly.

"No, not really." I admitted, sighing a bit.

"Why do you think I can't stand to be away from you for more than 24 hours?" He asked, smiling.

Then it dawned on me. My face went completely blank with realization. He was trying to tell me that.... that _I_ was his soul mate. That's what he meant by inevitable. Because we were going to end up just like Sam and Emily; married and happy, starting a family.

I smiled a bit at the picture that accompanied that thought. "Oh!" I laughed, surprised. "You mean that you... imprinted on... _me_?"

Jake nodded, his smiling widening until it looked much too big to be possible.

"Wow." I breathed, a bit dazed. He'd just gone from my best friend to someone I would eventually marry. "Wow..." I repeated, closing my eyes.

"Yeah, it is pretty wow, isn't it?" Jake said, and I could tell he was ecstatic now that I knew.

I opened my eyes and stared into his. "And it _definitely_ explains why Dad hates you."

He threw back his head and laughed. "Yeah, he's not too happy thinking about his daughter in love with a wolf."

"Well, I'm not in love with you _yet_." I mumbled, looking down and blushing a bit. It was an annoying quirk I'd gotten from Mom.

"Yet." he agreed, brushing a strand of curls away from my face.

"He is, however, going to be furious that you told me." I said, looking back up at him.

"Yeah, I know. But he can't touch me. I've got the ultimate protection." he poked me in the stomach, and I folded in a bit, giggling and feeling like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. I punched him lightly on the arm, sticking my tongue out at him.

He laughed at me.

I sat down in the other chair again, sighing happily. "So. What do you wanna do now?"

"Oh, I dunno. What do _you_ wanna do?" This was his usual response, but I understood it better, now. He really would do anything I wanted.

Right then, though, I wanted to sing. Instead, I laughed. It was close enough for the moment. "Honestly, I have no idea."

"Let's go hunting, then." Jacob suddenly suggested.

It was a good idea; I hadn't hunted since early last week. I was actually much too thirsty to even go _near_ town. "Let's." I agreed, grabbing his hand and running out the door.

**~~Aww, those two are so darn cute... **

**Anywho, what are your thoughts? Do you like how I have Jake tell her? Were you hoping for something different? How big of a bang do you thing Eddie'll make when he finds out? **

**Review, review, review! (...please?)**

**I'll post the next chappy when I get... oh, 5 reviews. Yep, I'm starting out small. Don't wanna look too cocky, now, do we? ;]**

**Love and huuuugies to all!**

**Rachel 3~~**


	3. Chapter 3: A Hunting Surprise

**~~Though I own a copy of each book and movie, Twilight isn't mine, and never will be. Aw, that thought is extremely depressing... Sadface.**

**OH! I GOT TO FIVE REVIEWS! HAPPYFACE! Just so you know, no one has to apologize for bad English in my reviews. I live with a two year old and a one year old, I decifer half-English everyday. Plus, most of you are doing awesome. Sooo... yeah. **

**_Any_ways... This lil chappy is about Nessie and Jakey's hunting trip (shocker) and they get a little surprise (major shocker). **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last two chapters, I love you all! Hope there are more people to love after this!! *hint hint, wink wink* **

**Happy R&R-ing!~~ **

Jacob and I ran through the forest, in the opposite direction of Carlisle and Esme's, talking and laughing and playing.

After we were about three miles out, I caught a whiff of something. I slowed down, and nudged Jake. "Lion." I breathed, slipping into a crouch as I began to stalk forward. "Three." Behind me, I heard and felt him phase into his wolf form.

Hunting is always so exhilarating. Not just because of the blood, though I'm sure that's part of it. It's the fact that I know I'm going to win. I know it sounds kind of conceited, but it's true. No animal stands a chance against me, half human or not. I always win.

I followed the unconscious pull of the warm, wet, enticing smell deeper into the woods. I could hear the breathing of the large animals, and their hearts pushing the blood through their bodies as they lounged. They were about halfway up the rocky mountain, sleeping under a cluster of pine trees. I could smell the fresh scent next to them.

I leapt from rock to rock, boulder to boulder, as I made my way up the steep slope. The beating and breathing was getting closer and closer, and my mouth started to water. I smiled in anticipation; I would soon win.

Before long, we were only feet from our targets. I could see them. They were larger then I'd expected; a nice little perk. I seemed to have picked up some of my hunting habits from Emmet: the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and it's no fun if they don't fight back. I leaped gracefully and silently into a tree above the largest one, staking a claim before Jake stole my thunder. He positioned himself to the side of the cluster, crouched down on his front paws, ready to spring on the next one. We locked eyes, and I motioned for him to go first.

He released his pose with a loud snarl, and launched on top of the unsuspecting animal. I would have stayed there, watching him, but mine was getting away. I dropped down, and it yelped in surprise when I landed on its back. It flipped around under me, and began flailing its claws around me, trying to force me off or kill me. I let it have its fun for a moment, wrestling with it on the ground. Soon, though, my thirst was too much, and I rolled onto my back. The lion immediately went for my neck, and I went for his. I drank quickly, and soon its struggles ceased, now only dead weight on my chest. I tossed it aside, jumping lightly to my feet.

Jake had just finished his, and was wiping some blood off of his muzzle. I looked down at myself, examining the damage. My shirt was good, just a few shallow tears, and one across my stomach, which surprised me a bit; I had gone all out fighting with this one, and it'd barely done anything. My jeans only had a couple holes on my knees where the lion had placed its back paws, leaving claw marks. I sighed. These were my favorite jeans. I should have changed out of them before we left.

I looked up to see Jake stepping out of the pine trees in his human form. I smiled, and skipped over to him.

"Have fun?" he smirked, examining my clothes.

"Don't I always?" I joked, taking his large hand and starting back home.

"Wait a sec, Ness." he stopped walking and turned me around to face him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just... you sure you want to go back there yet?" he asked me, jerking his chin in the direction of the cottage.

I thought about it for a minute; I knew what he was asking: am I ready to face my father, now that I know? I wasn't sure. "Yes." I lied anyway. Might as well get it over with...

Jake looked at me skeptically, but I met him with --- falsely --- sure eyes. "Alright... If that's what you want..." he muttered.

I smiled. I always end up winning with him, too.

We ran back down the mountain, and through the forest together. As we neared the cottage, we both began to slow down. Either my parents were in the cottage, and Dad could already hear us, or they were still at Esme's, and we were still outside of his range. Unless he was actually _listening_ for us, then he could hear us if we were in La Push, if he really wanted to.

Apparently, Jake was thinking something along those lines, too. "Well, I haven't heard any screaming, screeching, growling, buildings being torn to the ground..." he trailed off, smiling mockingly at me.

I stuck out my tongue, even though I knew he was exactly right. I knew that the second Dad found out, he'd go into a rage; most of it aimed at Jake.

We reached the back wall of the cottage, and froze. We stood there, listening for any noises inside. I heard nothing, but that didn't actually mean anything. It's not like my parents don't know how to stand still without making a sound. They don't even have to breathe.

I sniffed at the air tentatively. There was some sort of smell... Jake...? No... Me...? No... It's not even Mom or Dad.... "Do you smell that?" I breathed.

He nodded, looking worried.

We exchanged a loaded glance.

"Vampire." We both mouthed.

I could tell by the determined look on Jacob's face that he was going to phase. I put a restraining hand on his chest, and he looked at me quizzically. I shook my head. If the vampire was still here, seeing a giant, putrid-smelling wolf-thing would most likely get said wolf-thing killed. I glared at him, saying the majority of this with my eyes. Apparently, he got the message, because his shoulders slumped a bit in defeat.

I half smiled, then turned towards the cottage, motioning for Jake to stay still for a moment. I sniffed the air carefully. Yes, most definitely vampire. No one I'd ever met before, either. I stepped forward, towards the smell. It seemed to be coming from inside...

A large hand clasped around my wrist, and my heart skipped a beat. I turned my head, to see Jake's worried face. I smiled again, knowing it was simply my safety that had him concerned. He furrowed his brow in response.

"No." Jake mouthed.

"Yes." I retaliated silently, pulling my hand back gently. "Go tell Mom. I don't think whoever this is, is still here, but I don't want your smell to overpower this one right now. Ok?"

He folded his arms across his chest stubbornly. "Why don't _you_ go tell Bella? I can smell just as well as you can."

"Maybe, but I've met more vampires than you have, and I know what to do in this situation." I raised a challenging eyebrow. He knew this was true; he stayed clear of all the "blood suckers" he could.

"Fine." he mouthed reluctantly, and turned around. He hesitated, and turned back again. "Be careful, ok? I wouldn't want my future wife to be vampire chow." He smiled, trying to lighten up the situation, like always.

I smiled back, and stuck my tongue out. "You really think a vampire would dare chow on _this_?" I mouthed back, gesturing towards myself.

Jake laughed silently, winked at me, and bounded away towards my parents.

I stayed there a few seconds, looking at the spot in the trees he'd disappeared, before returning to the scent. I followed it ever so slowly, listening intently to see if anyone was there. I heard nothing out of the ordinary, merely the animals in the forest and the wind in the trees.

The smell was very strong, no less than an hour since it'd been made. A shiver went up my spine when I realized how close this vampire had been to us. Really, it was a fairly stupid reaction; I live with vampires, I love vampires, and I'm _part_ vampire. Still, all the vampires I love are _good _vampires. The kind that doesn't pick fights with other vampires, unless a fight is unavoidable. I hoped that, this time, it was avoidable.

The last time a battle was on the horizon, which happened to be over me, that is exactly what happened. It went as far as the battle field, and one unnecessary murder, but, ultimately, the fight was avoided. I shook my head, forcing the thoughts away. I didn't need distractions at the moment, especially when those distractions were bad memories.

I walked to the front door of the cottage, concentrating on the smell. It almost seemed to be... _radiating_ off the wood. But... what on earth would cause that? Unless the vampire was pressed up against the other side right now --- which I was positive was not the case --- I couldn't see how the scent could be so deeply impressed into it.

I opened the door carefully, half expecting to see an angry, red-eyed killing machine on the other side, despite my common sense. Nevertheless, I was shocked at the sight I was greeted with.

**~~*sings* And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger! ...Sorry. Childhood flashback moment. I'm back now. .**

**Soooo? Thoughts, praise, bashing, rambling, praise? It's all welcome ;]**

**What do you think she saw? Who do you think was there? Why on _earth_ was the smell so freaking strong in the door?? So many questions... *mumble-sings*** _And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger...! _**...Anyone actually remember that show? Watched it when you were little? I used to love that show...**

**Ok, back to reality now. Once I get to... 13 reviews (mah lucky numba ;] ) I'll put up the next chap. So spread the Inevitable Love! (Heh heh, see what I did there? I'm so punny...) **

**Stay warm in this freaking crazy winter! And if you are already warm, cause you live in Hawii or some place awesome like that, I hate you. (Not really, I love everyone, but I'm jealous. To an extreme.)**

**Love and huggies!**

**Rach xo~~**


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